Monday, January 12, 2015

So the first real part of the remodeling project was the master bedroom. It was previously my grandparent's room and then it was my mom's room. It has also served as storage and part exercise room for some time...all in all, it needed an update.

Before

During

After*excuse the mess - our home is lived in and not completely in order yet - who knew it could take so long to figure out where you want to put stuff?

Tuesday, January 6, 2015

I don't know about everyone else, but I was rather liking the no snow winter we'd been having. A small dusting at the end of November and then we managed to bypass any white stuff in December, but wham! We got a dusting again last night/today. It does look pretty outside, but I hate having to get out in it and I really don't like the cold weather that comes along with it. There are predictions for it to be 1 degree here tomorrow with a windchill to make it feel like -19 degrees. Uh....no thank you Mother Nature!

I'm excited that my IKEA picture ledges arrived today! :) That means that the living room is nearly complete. I have a few more decorations that I'd like to dig out to leave out year round, but seeing as how those items are buried in the back of the storage room upstairs...it's not likely to happen until the kitchen is done (cause that's what is in the majority of those boxes/totes - wedding presents consisting of a fairly large sum of pots, pans, knives, plates, gadgets that we're dying to use!). In the meantime, I am enjoying my new Scentsy warmer which was a HOT item in September when it was for sale. It sold out freakishly fast and has been on backorder until recently. I'm so glad I ordered one for myself! It will probably end up in our new kitchen along with some green/teal mason jars that we used for wedding decorations.

That's all for today...sorry for the hodge podge post! haha It's cold and that means it's a good night to snuggle up on the couch and watch TV.

Sunday, January 4, 2015

So back in August 2014, we decided to start remodeling our home. The last true remodel it underwent was when my grandparent's owned it did the 1960's and then when my mom had a few things (like windows) updated in 1999.

Remodeling is not all it's cracked up to be...ugh. It's really nice to have the newly finished rooms, once they are done, but it's not so much fun getting to that point.

The first room we did was the room that had been our bedroom. It was the carport when I was a kid and my mom had it turned into a bedroom for me in '99, but it's always been a bit of a misplaced room. It was initially supposed to be a family room, but that's a longer story than I plan to tell. haha This room was the newest room of the house, so besides spackling over the holes from all the stuff I had hanging on the walls, repainting, and cleaning the carpet...it was pretty easy. This room is now my mom's bedroom/living room as it is a pretty large room.

The second room we remodeled was the master bedroom. It had the lovely old wood paneling on the walls around the closet. After getting everything moved out of the room, Eric hung drywall around the closet and removed the ugly old sliding doors. There also used to be a dual entry to the bathroom (the ONLY bathroom in the house) from the bedroom, but we covered that over with drywall as well. A new light, new carpet, new bedroom set, fresh coat of paint, new closet doors, new bedroom door and now we're in business! It was a looooonnngg few weeks of sleeping on an old mattress on the floor in a room upstairs with our clothes in our old dressers downstairs in the living room. You didn't expect this much fun, did you? ha Our Christmas present from my mom was a new bedroom set. So we got a new bed frame and 2 dressers. The room is pretty much finished, minus deciding which pictures I want to hang in the bedroom versus in the living room.

The third room was the living room. To say it was a hot mess to start...well, that was an understatement. After 2 different indoor dogs over the years, the hardwood floors were in disrepair. We decided to treat them with a chemical to remove any odors, then carpet over it. I know, I know. It was so much cheaper to carpet than fix the hardwood. We swapped out the front door as our first step. We painted and had carpet installed. Our living room is now a cozy spot for everyone to hang out. We bought a BIG sectional couch and a recliner for Eric. We hung new curtains and added an electric fireplace to help warm us up on cold winter nights. We're slowly getting pictures back on the wall...I'm waiting on my IKEA picture ledges to arrive so we can finish decorating.

We also completed the hallway while doing the living room. The metallic pipes from the AC had never been covered over, so Eric framed it in and hung drywall. This included the staircase needing a coat of paint and carpet. We removed the door to the staircase to open it. The hallway and staircase each got new light fixtures, a fresh coat of paint and new carpet to cap off the look.

And now...well, it's been a few months since we finished the living room. Eric started to demo the room that will eventually be the girls' bedroom. It was my sister's bedroom. She cleared out all her stuff over Labor Day. This room also is covered in wood paneling, so we started by spackling the cracks (cause we are NOT going to remove and drywall). The old closet which was not even wide enough to hang an outfit without it being at an angle has now been demolished. The next step is removing the old carpet and finish spackling/sanding the walls. Then Eric plans to frame and drywall a new closet for the girls with lots of storage space. The girls have already picked out their paint and they are getting the same carpet as the first floor. We already have their new beds, mattresses and bedding. So, now it's just a waiting game as Eric can only work on his days off in the room. With any luck, we'll be able to finish the room in the next month (depending on when the carpet guy can come).

I would love to say that we'd be done after this room, but we have so much more to go! Some projects are going to require more work and money than others, but at least after the girls are in their new room, we'll be about half way to being done.

Hats off to anyone who has survived remodeling their home while living there!

Thursday, January 1, 2015

Oh my oh my...can't believe it has been 9 months since I posted a blog. CRAZINESS!

At first when I took my hiatus from blogging, I was still keeping up (on at least a weekly basis) reading all my favorite blogs. Then as the days and weeks passed, I started reading less and less. Eventually I didn't read any blogs at all, well...unless Mama Laughlin posted something on Facebook. Sad, I know.

Honestly, I lost passion for a lot of things in 2014. My husband will certainly tell you this is true. It was the basis of so many of our arguments. Work stress, home remodeling stress and continued health issues led me down a path of depression. A path that if I'm truly honest with myself, I've been on until just the other day. I know I'm not completely off that miserable path, but I'm already feeling better now that we're into 2015.

One thing I've missed is blogging and connecting with my blogger buddies on a much more personal level. Sometimes I just need a place to vent. Don't we all? So this year I took a step for my own sanity and well being...today I bought a new computer (my old one bit the dust months ago) and I'm back in cyberspace! Woohoo! ha Using your phone for EVERYTHING can be a bit trying. And I hated to borrow my husband's computer all the time since he's a freak about not saving stuff to it.
So, since I missed pretty much all of 2014...here's a short recap on my year:

too many afternoon trips to Starbucks at work has resulted in way too many extra pounds

we celebrated our 1st Anniversary with the same wine from the wedding thanks to my mom & sis

I got severely burned and spent a week in pain while I waited to peel...ugh

the girls and I took time to enjoy pedicures

we took the girls to Bluespring Caverns in Bedford & stopped by to visit Eric's Mamaw Padgett

I got my ring finger tattoo - an anchor with a heart (Eric is an Aquarius)

my adorable husband entertaining his nephews & nieces at Thanksgiving

Santa Claus sure was good to all of us this year!

my new computer :)

Here's to hoping you had a great 2014 and are looking forward to a prosperous 2015! It feels good to be back in blogger land and I hope I haven't lost too many of you as followers!

Sunday, March 23, 2014

I know Jenn & Nikki aren't doing the linkup, but I have found that it helps keep me accountable by sharing...so I will probably continue to do so. I also text my daily workouts to my trainer, but that will be ending in another 4 weeks (at least until I can save up for more sessions!), so with this in place as well, I hope to stay motivated. ha

Sunday, March 16 - home strength training #2 (workout designed by Abby)
Monday, March 17 - 1 hour training session with Abby
Tuesday, March 18 - home strength training #2 (workout designed by Abby) + walked 1 mile with Leslie Sansone Walk at Home (YouTube)
Wednesday, March 19 - walked 3 miles with Leslie Sansone Power Walk (YouTube)
Thursday, March 20 - rest day
Friday, March 21 - home strength training #2 (workout designed by Abby)

Saturday, March 22 - home strength training #2 (workout designed by Abby)

I am also switching over to a clean eating plan versus the paleo plan. It is not quite as strict as paleo, which I think will help me stick to it. The more I am denied, the more I crave something! ha I've got my food planned out for the week and that always helps as well.